Hurricane Michael wreaks havoc across the southeast

Just When You Thought It Was Over

According to a published report, the governor of North Carolina estimated that the damage from Hurricane Florence will cost the state $13 billion. In the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, many North Carolinians are still displaced from their homes, out of work, and nearly 90,000 students are still out of school. Communities throughout the state have spent almost a month repairing their homes and businesses, helping neighbors do the same, and clearing downed trees from roads. The weakened root systems of trees affected by Hurricane Florence’s high winds and flooding rain are more susceptible to falling, hanging limbs still linger menacingly, and huge piles of unsecured debris line residential streets.

Hurricane Michael

With North Carolinians only weeks into their clean-up and recovery from the torrential rain and destruction caused by Hurricane Florence, the last thing anyone wanted to see on the weather radar was another storm. Unfortunately, the tropical storm that was once Hurricane Michael brought more wind and rain to the Carolinas on Thursday, October 11, 2018. Unlike Hurricane Florence, Michael made its way through the central and western parts of North Carolina, leaving the majority of the state’s east coast relatively unscathed in comparison. Still, the additional wind and rain from Michael raised many concerns about the weakened root systems throughout the state, the unsecured debris still awaiting pick-up, and the damaged buildings still awaiting repairs. Although Michael was not a direct hit to Wilmington, North Carolina, the additional wind and rain caused more trees to fall, debris to scatter, and more damage to already comprised buildings.

East-coast cities like Wilmington, North Carolina, hit hard by Hurricane Florence, only received moderate wind and rain and from Michael, while other parts of the state were forced to deal with another intense storm before they even had time to recover from the last one. Where Hurricane Florence decided to make itself at home and hovered over the Carolinas for days, Michael came and went quickly. Still, by Thursday afternoon, nearly 400,000 people in North Carolina were without power, numerous roads were closed, dozens of rescues and evacuations were undertaken, and at least one man in the western part of the state died when a tree fell on his car.

Unfortunately, the 2018 hurricane season has been very active, bringing more storms to North Carolina than the area has seen in years. With hurricane season still going strong, North Carolinians are forced to spend the next month or so hoping for the best, while planning for the worst.